Paul Otellini: Intel Silverthorne
Wolfgang Gruener writes about Intel chief executive officer Paul Otellini, who thinks the mobile processor “Silverthorne” will be as important as the original 8088 CPU and the 1994 Pentium processor.
[tease]
The new [ Siverthorne] CPU will also make its way into UMPCs, which show signs of becoming a replacement for the tablet PC rather than a mass market product, as well as Mobile Internet Devices. Intel believes that these Mobile Internet Devices, short MIDs, will have four to five times the volume opportunity than a relatively pricey UMPC. With a form factor that fits between the UMPC and a smartphone, a 5” screen, flash-based storage, a light operating system such as Ubuntu Linux (which was shown at IDF) and a $500 price tag, MIDs could be much more attractive for Intel than the UMPC.
Silverthorne is also the first processor that will focus much more on cost-efficiency than previous processors – which not only will allow Intel to increase profit margins, but also enable the firm to target these processors at much cheaper computing devices that will be more affordable for a greater audience around the globe. At IDF, Intel said that the CPU will be Intel’s “most cost-efficient processor since the 286 CPU. Manufactured in 45 nm, Intel can squeeze about 2500 Silverthorne processor on one 300 mm wafer. According to Otellini, the average price of a product that will be integrating a Silverthorne processor will be about $100.
[via Chad Page]